Creating a Crappy Ad Video for Instagram

As mentioned yesterday, the Google Ad campaign didn't deliver the results I hoped for. I wanted to spend $100 to experiment, ended up spending $200 instead, and got no leads.

Well well. Next time, I'll make sure to set that end date properly.

This reflects the outcome of my validation campaign - back then, I ran Google ads, too. Many people clicked, but nobody signed up for the waitlist.

My theory was that most people who actively search for a service want to purchase today. They don't want to sign up for a waitlist. If I look for a plumber on Google, I'd hate to set an appointment that's 5 months in the future.

However, the Instagram and Facebook campaigns performed better. They had a click-through rate of 5-10% (less than on Google, which was a stunning 20%), but visitors reliably signed up, at a rate of 2-5%.

So, I chose to give it another shot.

I started to create another video. If done well, this would probably have the most conversions, as videos are the most engaging content. And I own Final Cut Pro X already!

Yeah - but my laptop wouldn't let me. As mentioned yesterday, my MacBook sucks. Recording yesterday's demo video was a pain, and so was cutting this ad video.

In the end, I did have a 30-second vid, but I had no motivation to put in more effort. I mainly wanted to shut up those MacBook fans.

The video sucked, but I now had something to gather feedback on. My marketer and videographer friends gave me a few key points:

• You should display one (moving) thing at a time, so the eyes know what to focus on
• Be frugal with your screen real estate - do not waste it on things that don't matter to the viewer
• Show your logo and name
• Make multiple versions - reels are longer than stories
• Use a good template and enable "safe zones", so you don't put elements in areas where Instagram overlays text and UI

These seem obvious now, but every mistake has to be made once before you can learn from it.

So, start over?

No, I uploaded the video anyway. One of my biggest problems is perfectionism, so I rather have a crappy video running than none at all.

Of course, I find it uncomfortable that something sub-par is shown under my name, but I'd rather push out of my comfort zone than avoid that discomfort.

Plus, my main goal with those ads isn't to make money - it's to create momentum. If users visit my site, even if they don't buy, the project feels more "real". Users are seeing it, I am responsible for their experience with the app, and I have a conversion rate to tweak.

It's motivating. It makes me stick to the product. Otherwise, I would start building the next app, if no users show up after two weeks. So, if I get back 90 cents on the dollar, I'm happy (for now, and with a small ad budget, of course).

Let's see how it performs. Of course, I'll improve the video.

Next steps:

• Create a new, better ad video.
• Create additional ads. Some images for the Instagram feed.